"I'm sorry to hear that the truth insults you." – Edward Snowden is a FUCKING HERO

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Lube up for the Canon “Rebate”

I admit I don’t usually keep myself busy here at Canon USA with sales matters, that’s not really my department. I’m more of a technical guy working with the marketing division. But I’ve been hearing some complaints about the current ongoing Canon rebate in a few places, and I’ve also been sent this email (thanks):

Here’s a heads up about the games being played with Canon lens prices since the 2/20/11 through 3/19/11 rebates were announced last Sunday.

Apparently, Canon and/or major retailers raised prices on Canon lenses (at least lenses with a rebate) since Last Sunday to offset about 75% of the rebate.

For example, the EF 70-200/2.8L IS II lens was priced at B&H Photo, Beach Camera and buydig.com, among others, last Sunday at $2374 USD. Since then, said retailers increased the retail price to $2499. After the $200 rebate is factored in, the real rebate is only $75 and not the $200.

Results are similar on a percentage basis for the EF 100/2.8L IS Macro. I haven’t checked prices for the other lenses listed for rebates.

Canon’s as cunning, sinister and self-serving as their nation was on December 7, 1941.

The very sensual, the verry toit, Helen Oster from Adorama Camera also posted about this here:

When Canon raises the prices to retailers, rebates are generally offered for the first few months to delay the price-change for customers. We don’t raise prices on our existing stock to match the new prices, which often means that customer prices drop initially; however within a week or two, when we’ve sold out of almost every Canon unit that has a rebate on it, as well as a few that don’t – we have to pay the increased prices when we re-stock.

This seems to confirm my theory. Canon Inc. initially offered the rebate and then jacked up the prices after they saw prices got too low. It’s like I said, who would fucking buy a 600D for $800 if you can buy the 60D for the same price? Fortunately it seems that retailers acted fast enough and lubed up before Canon Inc. began penetration. The whole rebate became a fucking rip-off in the end, but this should not surprise you if you know Canon Inc.

In other news…. yeah, you know it’s coming right? You know I’m gonna mention it… yeah that’s right, the 5D Mark III petition!! Have you signed it yet? If not, you should be fucking ashamed of yourself. So far only 200 people have signed it, and that’s nowhere near the minimum 10.000 signatures I was aiming for when I launched it. And that’s FUCKING PATHETIC. Words cannot even begin to describe how much I regret investing my valuable time in that God forsaken petition. All that effort and then only 200 of you bastards sign it? I could have better spent the time it took me to make that petition beating my meat to a Sasha Grey video. Speaking of which, I need to go now.

If you read the comments to the toit one’s blog entry, you will see Henry from B&H saying hi and thanks – which Helen then kindly acknowledges.
You know, there is a message and a story in there somewhere. Two of Canon’s biggest retailers getting along, respecting each other, inspiring each other. All of us Canon users get along. We’re trying to enjoy our hobby or profession which revolves around their product. Most of us don’t even begrudge or hate Nikon. We respect their products where applicable and a little competition is good.
So if all of us are getting along, WHY DOESN’T CANON RESPECT THEIR OWN CUSTOMERS? WHY CAN’T THEY GET ALONG WITH US?

“…Henry from B&H saying hi and thanks – which Helen then kindly acknowledges …Two of Canon’s biggest retailers getting along, respecting each other, inspiring each other.”
Thank you. I have the utmost respect for Helen and the job she does so well on behalf of her employer. In general I prefer a collegial environment and appreciate that she does also. I’ve said this before but I’m a Darwinian about retail. B&H is as good as we are at least in part because our competition won’t let us rest on yesterday’s accomplishments. If there were no hungry lions all the impalas would be fat, lazy and slow.
— Henry Posner / B&H Photo-Video

Sorry, but I have to agree with Anonymous. I enjoy your rants here, but I’m not signing anything that reads like your petition. Anybody receiving a message worded that way will naturally ignore it, so why waste our time?

Say, it sure is swell to hear from the goody two shoes contingent that can’t abide a little cussing. By golly fellas, let’s just be nice and play it Canon’s way so they can keep on comfortably ignoring us! Not signing the petition – isn’t that sweet! Canon loves you! Go get a room, OK?

Or, why not wake up and smell the coffee? You’re a bunch of naive twits if you think polite and reasoned discourse is going to change a damn thing. Photographers, like engineers, don’t have fucking clue about how a corporation works, or what it takes to effect change in a corporation. Being reasonable and polite accomplishes nothing, zero, zip, nada! It doesn’t even register on management’s radar screen until customers are taking every opportunity to rip a new asshole for anyone that has a title in the company! If you all don’t get that, you don’t know fuck!

So, I say bravo to you Chuck, and thanks, keep sticking it to the fucking cocksuckers! Be a mad dog, not a lap dog!

Since Fucked Canon Owner thinks people who appreciate polite discourse are a bunch of twits, may I invite you to go fuck yourself?
Yes, it’s all very well to rant and rave. But if you rant and rave in peoples’ faces, they will NOT RESPOND THE WAY YOU WANT, ASSHOLE!

Post that petition at dpreview. The internet forum masterbaters over there will be arguing over it until the whole thread resembles a bukkake video. And for your information chuck, everytime I load my firefox session, everyones pages come up to the most recent except yours. I had no idea you had new posts since your “Is nikon the new canon” from last month. For fucks sake, is this a wordpress problem?